Guatemala Real life story

The Scholarship, an incentive against school dropout

Damaris Amanda Car Larios is 10 years old. She attends third grade in Escuela Oficial Rural
Mixta in Santa Isabel, Chimaltenango, and is one in fifteen pupils benefiting this year from the
Rural Girl Scholarship, a programme created by the Ministry of Education in 2004.
Damaris fully responds to the profile designed for this purpose. She comes from a
large family of thirteen siblings, a weak
household economy, their parents are illiterate and, what is most important, she has
a great desire to learn and keep on studying. For the foregoing reasons, her school
Board chose her as one of the girls eligible
for receiving an annual grant of 300 quetzals.
Consuelo Larios, Damariss mother, says
the scholarship has been of great help to
her daughter: My husband is a farmer.
Right now he is working in staple and maize
crops. But we live mostly off our suckling
pigs, which we sell when they are fatter. But
we lack a fixed income. Lets say we dont
expect to receive any money every fifteen
days. And then she adds, between you
and I, when the scholarship arrived, it really
helped me because I was going through a
bad moment and we had no money at all.
Damariss teacher is full of praise for her
pupil: She likes to study. She is very intelligent, very attentive; she always makes herself available when you need something. It
is obvious that she likes school. And this is
true because, despite her terrible shyness,
reflected in the almost inaudible tone of her
voice, she does not hesitate to declare: I
like school very much. I learn a lot here and
want to keep on studying.

Damaris is among the most outstanding pupils in her class.

The importance of family support

Three of her siblings come to school with her every day and encourage her at home to keep on
studying. Damaris explains, My father advises me to keep going to school and not miss a day.
My mother tells me to pay attention to
the teacher, and she adds my parents
are happier since I got the scholarship.

She reiterates her wish to finish primary school in order to have a

better future.

And Consuelo reiterates her interest in

having her children go to school: Yes, I
want my children to go to school, even
if they only learn to read. They can
study all they like. For instance, after
the little boy finished sixth grade, he
decided that he did not want to continue. Damariss older brother was not
so lucky. Those were the worst times
for their parents and they could not
afford the luxury of sending their boy to
school. He wanted to go to school but
were could not afford it then. He has
been working with my husband since
he was 10 or 12 years old.

Consuelo is aware that Damaris is a

good student. She really likes to go to
school. She has better grades than the
rest of the family. She is more responsible. I tell her to study all she wants and for as long as we
can afford it.
The scholarship is an incentive to the families and the girls. Being able to have this financial
support that they so need facilitates their continuous school attendance, explains Irma Socop,
the Community Service Coordinator from the Departmental Education Directorate of Chimaltenango.
The United Nations Childrens Fund, UNICEF, has launched the BECATN, an appeal to the
solidarity of all Guatemalans oriented to raise funds to finance scholarships for boys and girls
living in extreme poverty and still excluded from the education system. The initial goal consists in
raising ten million quetzals to fund 25,000 scholarships - 400.00 quetzals each - therefore increasing the number of primary school students who, just as Damaris, will receive this incentive,
which will allow them to finish primary school.

Text and photographs: Elena Prieto

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para la Infancia - UNICEF
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Guatemala City, Guatemala

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